José Azel remembers the past, and thinks that Barack Obama and the Castros are determined to repeat it;
Beginning in the early days of the Cuban Revolution and climaxing with
Fidel Castro’s “Revolutionary Offensive,” the regime embarked on an
effort to eliminate all private property. First came the expropriations
of foreign enterprises, followed by the expropriation of large
Cuban-owned businesses, and finally all economic activity was taken over
in 1968.
But today, we're supposed to believe that if the U.S. ends the embargo, that will bring about a flowering of self-employment in Cuba. In turn, those newly enabled entrepreneurs will pressure the government to reform and give up their Stalinist ways. Azel says,
Idiotas.
According
to Cuban-government statistics, [in 1968] 55,636 micro enterprises, mostly of one
or two persons, were confiscated. Among them, 11,878 food retailers,
3,130 meat retailers, 3,198 bars, 8,101 food establishments, 6,653 dry
cleaners, 3,345 carpentry workshops, 4,544 automobile mechanic shops,
1,598 artisan shops, and 1,188 shoeshine stands.
Even
with this sizable private sector in operation, the regime was able to
exert total control. Moreover, this private sector had fresh memories of
an imperfect, but significantly free pre-Castro Cuba. It was a civil
society still imbued with the political principles of the 1940s Cuban
Constitution enshrining liberty. And yet, this civil society was unable
to prevent the communization of the island, or bring about change in the
regime.
So why would this time be different, Barack?
Somehow, attempting to persuade thugs pointing guns doesn't work well.
ReplyDeleteIt is emotionally wrenching to shoot the first 50 small business owners, but this gets easier over time. After a while, blessedly, only a very few need to be shot. People come to agree with the government without the use of force, and the new social era triumphs.